Lee calls for all-out response to deadly flooding in Nepal

President Lee Jae Myung called for using all available means in response to deadly flooding in Nepal that left nine Koreans missing, leading a government-wide effort during an emergency meeting Thursday.

He also underscored cooperation with the Nepalese government, urging the authorities to activate every diplomatic channel. “We have convened this unscheduled emergency meeting because the lives and safety of our citizens are at grave risk,” Lee said as he presided over the gathering at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in central Seoul, a day after the disaster struck Nepal.

The nine missing Koreans are three employees of Korea South-East Power Co. and six from Doosan Enerbility, all of whom were working on the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Rasuwa region.

They are among the at least 160 people killed and more than 800 others missing.

Another 10 Doosan Enerbility employees were stranded in the affected area, along with about 200 Nepali and other foreign workers. “We must approach the protection of our people’s lives and safety with the resolve that t